Welcoming our new Head Nurse!

Emma Sargant RVN has taken on the role as our new Head Nurse. Emma is by no means new to us or our clients having been a very proactive member of our nursing team since she joined us two and a half years ago. This change has also lead to the promotion of several members of the nursing team as Heads of Department who will be responsible for maintaining and building our high level of nursing care, all under the leadership of Emma ...

Gary Rutland left on Friday, after 11 years as our Head Nurse, to take on a very different challenge as he becomes a Practice Support Adviser for the company Bayer. While we will all miss Gary greatly, we are looking forward to new beginnings as Emma takes up her new role as Head Nurse.

Introducing our new Head Nurse - Emma Sargant RVN

Emma started her training in 2002 at Medivet Veterinary Group and qualified in 2006. She then joined the Goddard Veterinary Group and started working at their 24 hour hospital in Wanstead, completing an advance anaesthesia course and qualifying as an assessor for student veterinary nurses. She moved on in 2010 to join Vets Now in Witham, an emergency only out of hours practice. Here she gained vast experience and gained her nursing certificate in emergency and critical care. She then made the change in 2014 from solely night work to a normal day rota when she joined us here at Millennium! Emma has previous Head Nurse experience and now leads our team of registered vet nurses, student nurses, veterinary care assistants and nurse assistants.

Emma is mum to her rescued Staffordshire Bull Terrier, 'Stanley'! She also keeps and shows Netherland Dwarf rabbits (since 11 years old!) and is a National Panel Judge for Netherland Dwarf rabbits.

Emma is looking forward to taking on our Head Nurse role.

And a fond farewell to Gary ...

Gary has never been one to stand still! He started working at the practice in 1996, originally at the Moloney's Veterinary Surgery working up from a ward assistant, receptionist and student veterinary nurse. In 2001 he moved with us to the current premises on Millennium Way and subsequently in 2003 qualified as a registered veterinary nurse. In 2005 he was promoted to Head Nurse, qualified as an NVQ assessor training and assessing the student veterinary nurses with their practical training and in 2007 gained the Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (surgical) - becoming one of only a handful of male veterinary nurses in the country to achieve this! Gary's interests have centred around feline medicine and behaviour, surgical nursing and theatre practice.

He then became an external examiner for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons examining student veterinary nurses in their final practical examinations. And earlier this year he was awarded the Best Student Award for the Institute of Leadership and Management Level 5 Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring. This is awarded to the most outstanding candidate who has shown commitment to their studies ans shown development utilising skills, as well as being a positive and supportive class member! Gary has left us to join Bayer Animal Health as one of three national RVNs with the title Practice Support Adviser. This role includes the provision of external lectures to some of the largest UK veterinary congresses and on a practice level - in-house practice training, including customer care and product training. Gary's region incorporates the Midlands, East of England and London. So he will be visiting us as part of his new roll too!

On behalf of the Directors and members of staff, Director Robin Creighton added, "Gary has been a dedicated member of our nursing team for 20 years and our trusty Head Nurse for 11 years. His personal development not only produced a very talented, forward thinking and motivated nurse but he applied his knowledge to many areas of our practice. This included our application to become a Silver Cat Friendly Practice accredited by International Cat Care; leading the training of our student veterinary nurses and developing the nursing team but these are only a few examples of his work!

If this is what Gary has achieved in 20 years, then the next chapter of his career is one to watch! He will be sadly missed by all our members of staff and the many clients and patients he has helped over the years. His ability to retain years worth of knowledge, facts and figures will also be missed - but its time for our walking encyclopaedia to move on to a very different challenge in Veterinary Industry! We wish him every success in his new role as Practice Support Adviser at Bayer and look forward to his visits to us as part of this new role."

And in Gary's parting message to all our Millennium Veterinary Practice - Official Facebook Followers on his last day, he wrote:

"Today will be my last day working at MVP having been at the practice for over 20 years, starting at the Moloney surgery in the town, I have seen the practice grow into the centre of excellence it is, whilst still maintaining friendly patient and client focused values. I would like thank everybody who has helped me on my path from kennel boy to Head Nurse. So whilst I hang up my bottle green uniform for one last time (for now) I will always be proud of what it is to be a Registered Veterinary Nurse at a practice that was described by the RCVS as exemplary for what a practice should be." Best wishes - Gary Rutland RVN